# Error path behaviour across Flow Designer activities

Canonical: https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/webex-cc-flow-error-paths

Last verified: 2026-09-15

Flow Designer activities present failure conditions through dedicated branches, generic undefined error nodes, and failure variables[^20][^15]. Only 6 activities carry error branches beyond the generic undefined error node: menu, collect digits, virtual agent, virtual agent version 2, queue to agent, and cryptographic hash[^20].

## Activity error branches and variables

The named branches on the menu and collect digits activities are a no-input timeout and an unmatched entry[^17]. For the virtual agent activity, the error code variable takes 4 values: no error, maximum no input, termination character without input, and system error[^21]. Most activities that describe failure carry the detail in a failure code and a failure description variable rather than in a branch[^15].

## Flow termination and activity documentation

Cisco warns that the End Flow activity should not be used in an interactive voice response flow, because doing so may result in dead air and the call may not disconnect[^14]. In the field, a table headed as GoTo activity error codes contains output variable descriptions rather than failure codes[^16].

## Documentation discrepancies

Sources disagree on the error path for the Parse activity: the Parse activity's own section describes an undefined error path, while the error handling section lists Parse among 4 activities that lack one[^18]. Sources disagree on publish rules as well, as the article gives 2 incompatible statements about whether a flow missing an error path can be published[^19].

## See also

See also [The Webex Contact Center Flow Designer activity set](https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/wxcc-flow-designer-activities).
See also [The Flow Designer activity catalogue](https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/wxcc-flow-designer-activity-catalogue).
See also [Webex Contact Center Flow Designer architecture](https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/webex-cc-flow-designer).

## Applicability

Applies to: Cisco Webex Contact Center. Sources checked 2026-09-15.

## What remains uncertain

Sources disagree on whether a flow missing an error path can be published[^19]. How an interactive voice response flow should end when End Flow is unsafe there is not covered by the sources below. The values each activity's failure code variable can take are not covered by the sources below.

## Sources

[^1]: Get Queue Info is the only contact handling activity with 3 named outcome branches: Success Insufficient Information Flow and Failure. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Get Queue Info activity. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^2]: The activity set uses at least 5 different label conventions for the same idea of an outcome: Success and Failure on one activity onSuccess and onError on another Handled and Escalated and Error on a third Errored on its successor and True and False on the branching activities (field report). Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, activity output ports across the catalogue. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^3]: The Undefined Error node (used to route undefined system errors) is not present on 4 Flow Control activities: Start Flow, End Flow, HTTP Request, and Parse. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Configure error handling. Checked 2026-09-04.
[^4]: The transfer node's success outcome is named onConversationTransferred and the hold node's success outcome is named Success, so two nodes of the same family documented on the same site use different conventions for the same position (field report). Source: [Hold conversation - WxEngage standalone](https://help.webexconnect.io/docs/hold-conversation), Hold conversation node and Transfer conversation node, Node outcomes tables. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^5]: The transfer node publishes one success outcome and six named error outcomes: transfer failed, timeout, invalid data, middleware error, invalid choice and authorization failure, with a seventh unnamed Failure category for any other runtime failure (field report). Source: [Transfer conversation - WxEngage standalone](https://help.webexconnect.io/docs/transfer-conversation), Transfer conversation node, Node outcomes. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^6]: Cisco states that a tenant may not see the undefined error node at all and must contact support to have the feature enabled. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Configure error handling. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^7]: The HTTP Request activity publishes no failure code variable no failure branch and no undefined error node and a flow can only test the returned status code by hand. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, HTTP Request activity and Configure error handling. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^8]: No sentence in the article relates the generic undefined error node to a failure code variable: the phrase error branch occurs 0 times and failure branch once without defining what the branch carries. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, counted against the rendered article. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^9]: A Flow Designer failure code integer means different things in different activities: code 3 is feature not enabled insufficient data invalid wait time agent not logged in no answer and invalid queue depending on which activity set it. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, the 10 runtime failure code tables compared by code number. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^10]: A tenant without the error handling feature enabled sees no undefined error node on any activity, so an automated coverage check over its flows reports every activity as uncovered, and nothing in the flow distinguishes that from a tenant that has the feature and has connected no error paths (inferred). Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer guide, undefined error node and the support instruction beside it. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^11]: Four activities have no undefined error node at all: Start Flow End Flow HTTP Request and Parse. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Configure error handling. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^12]: Cisco instructs a reader who cannot see the undefined error node in any activity to contact support to have the feature enabled. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Configure error handling. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^13]: An activity with no error path connected falls through to the global error handler on the event flow canvas and a flow with neither ends when an error occurs. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Configure error handling. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^14]: Cisco warns that the End Flow activity should not be used in an interactive voice response flow, because doing so may result in dead air and the call may not disconnect. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, End Flow activity. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^15]: Most activities that describe failure carry the detail in a failure code and a failure description variable rather than in a branch. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, activity output variables. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^16]: A table headed as GoTo activity error codes contains output variable descriptions rather than failure codes (field report). Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, GoTo activity. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^17]: The named branches on the menu and collect digits activities are a no-input timeout and an unmatched entry. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Menu and Collect Digits activities. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^18]: The Parse activity's own section describes an undefined error path and the error handling section lists Parse among 4 activities that lack one (disputed). Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Parse activity against Configure error handling. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^19]: The article gives 2 incompatible statements about whether a flow missing an error path can be published (disputed). Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Configure error handling and the publish validation text. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^20]: Only 6 Flow Designer activities carry error branches beyond the generic undefined error node: menu, collect digits, virtual agent, virtual agent version 2, queue to agent and cryptographic hash. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, activity error outputs. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^21]: The virtual agent error code variable takes 4 values: no error, maximum no input, termination character without input, and system error. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Virtual Agent activity error code. Checked 2026-09-15.
[^22]: An expression written without its double curly braces throws a flow error and the article states this for the Condition activity only. Source: [Build and manage flows with Flow Designer](https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/nhovcy4/Build-and-manage-flows-with-Flow-Designer), Flow Designer, Condition activity. Checked 2026-09-15.